Bethlehem City Councilwoman Jean Belinski is making this year her last on council.

Elected to council in 1998, the 78-year-old Democrat had served as a watchdog on three administrations and helped make decisions to shape the city redeveloped from an industrial city to one with a focus on tourism. She often described herself as a champion of the little guy, being a strong advocate of independent haulers.

The daughter of a hauler, Belinski first was drawn into city politics in a losing battle to stop the city from selling its landfill. She had since become a strong steward of the Poconos watershed, which supplies the city water, opposing then-Mayor Don Cunningham’s proposal for a $5 million-a-year logging operation (The authority has since instituted less profitable “environmental” cuts).

She was among the majority supporting a zoning ordinance that allows a casino at the former Bethlehem Steel property, a decision that cleared the way for the Sands casino to win a license to open in Bethlehem.

She also was on the losing side, casting the sole vote against the rezoning of the old Durkee spice plant so Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse could go there.

In recent years, she's called for a historic preservation ordinance that would, among other things, protect the shuttered churches from demolition.

But Belinski said not to count her out of civic involvement completely.